The embodiments herein relate generally to handheld devices designed to move clothing.
Prior to embodiments of the disclosed invention, there were many needs for laundry hampers that were unfulfilled. For instance, there was a need for a user to carry a fully loaded laundry basket with one hand so that the user's free hand could easily open doors especially self-closing doors such as the type that may be found in the entrance to the garage, for fire safety reasons. There was a need for a user to carry a fully loaded laundry basket with one hand and clothes hanging from hangers and various other miscellaneous items (such as laundry detergent, bags, tools etc.) leaving the user's other hand to open doors.
There was a need for a one-handed laundry hamper to have a stiff rigid handle such that when the user's hand moved the handle, the entire hamper moved at the exact same time so there was no delay in the rest of the hamper moving forward, which could be the case if the handle is made of a fabric material. In the case of a fabric material, the hamper would “swing” backwards momentarily when the user is moving forward through the door, thus causing the hamper to get trapped in the door, especially if the door is self-closing.
There was a need for a one-handed hamper to have a stiff, rigid handle and a special grip, centered in the middle of the handle, with a concave shape on the under-side of the grip. The under-side concave shape was needed when the user was carrying items, because the user would likely place an arm through the handle and the grip. Specifically, there was a need to accommodate a human arm beneath a concave shape of the grip, thus allowing the user to move the entire hamper at the same time, when the user's arm moves. Without such a grip having a concave under-side, the handle could slide in a perpendicular fashion across the user's arm thus causing the contents of the hamper to spill out. The concave under-side of the grip prevents any perpendicular sliding of the hamper.
There was a need for a stiff rigid handle that could be laid down out of and clear of the open top section of the hamper. This was necessary because if the handle was allowed to lie across the top open section of the hamper, when the user was placing clothes into the hamper, the clothes would collect on top of the handle requiring the user to later remove the clothes off the handle to place the clothes inside the body of the hamper.
There was a need for the stiff, rigid handle to stay in place when in the upright position and easily return downward. If the handle could not lock in the upright position, the handle would instead swing from one side of the top of the hamper to the other side. If a heavy item was placed on one side of the hamper, the hamper would roll forward and the contents will spill out.
Embodiments of the disclosed invention solve these problems.